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Post by caitmonster on Jun 22, 2016 10:41:14 GMT -5
Hi all; I have a vet visit scheduled for this afternoon, the soonest I could get in because my normal ferret vet is almost entirely booked for the day (in fact he's staying late for my appointment, bless him). I wanted to see if anyone had anything I might want to know heading in. My 2 year old boy Butterball has been lethargic today and yesterday; he'll get up at about his normal times, but has no interest in playing or running about--in fact he's been speedbumping very frequently and abruptly, even when crossing a room. He's also had decreased appetite, eating only a tsp or less at a time, so I've been trying to tempt him with an egg which he's nibbled at. He has been drinking water and urinating fine. This morning he had a nasty cough that lasted for nearly 5 minutes that sounded like what's in this video: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/11403/cough-fur-stuck. I was worried that it was a hairball, since he's had trouble with those before, so I gave him pumpkin (which he gets a teaspoon of on a daily basis as a preventative) and Vaseline, which he passed fine. The one thing that worries me is that he seems to have fluid build-up in his abdomen... it feels squishy rather than hard, though doesn't seem to be noticeably painful, and from the side while standing he looks a little paunchy between his hind legs. He also has an increased respiration rate. At this point, after a lot of the usual panicky researching, I do know it's serious, and I'm kicking myself for not having taken him in yesterday. I had assumed that he was overheating, since we've had a heat wave, and moved him down to a cooler area with ice packs in the cage and wet his paws and tail with some water, but the continued lethargy and rapid breathing tell me it's something more. Based on his symptoms I'm guessing there's a chance it's heart disease of some sort, but that it could also be any number of things, knowing these little guys.  |
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Post by Heather on Jun 22, 2016 11:29:09 GMT -5
It could be heart and very definitely get that checked. I would suggest when you find out just what it is you stop the pumpkin. This is creating a possible insulinoma issue and the 1 tsp is a remedy for loose stools and could very well make him constipated.
I'm not going to try and second guess but will wish you luck and hope you find a solution for his problem. Good call, I'd be taking him in too
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2016 18:05:44 GMT -5
Interesting, I hope he is ok. I give my guys 1 teaspoon of pumpkin each day just as preventative as well. It seems they are always eating something they shouldn't be. I did not think pumpkin was dangerous though.
My guys have been a little more tired lately. After about an hour of playtime, they just lay down. They seem fine, they play hard and then they just plop down for a nap. It has been hotter here to but keep the a/c on. Mine have their first vet visit coming up in a few weeks.
I hope butterball is ok, please keep us posted.
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Post by caitmonster on Jun 23, 2016 18:06:53 GMT -5
Ok--update after first vet trip:
X-ray appears to show fluid around his lungs and the vet thought he heard some arrythmia, though no fluid actually in his lungs, at least. He was only able to take one X-ray due to my poor little guy not wanting to stay still enough, and didn't want to force him to go through another one, so he referred me to a specialist that he thinks will be able to interpret the one image more conclusively than he feels he is able to (and be able to rule out any other possibilities). So, on to another doctor...
Thanks for the point about the pumpkin--I had been under the impression that it was somewhat neutral, but I didn't realize that it basically counted as carbs as far as insulinoma was concerned.
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Post by caitmonster on Jun 23, 2016 18:16:44 GMT -5
Interesting, I hope he is ok. I give my guys 1 teaspoon of pumpkin each day just as preventative as well. It seems they are always eating something they shouldn't be. I did not think pumpkin was dangerous though. My guys have been a little more tired lately. After about an hour of playtime, they just lay down. They seem fine, they play hard and then they just plop down for a nap. It has been hotter here to but keep the a/c on. Mine have their first vet visit coming up in a few weeks. I hope butterball is ok, please keep us posted. Thank you (shy) Hmm, could be the heat, but a vet check certainly is a good idea. Out of curiosity, about how old are they? My older ferret--who is approximately five, but could be older because the girl I originally adopted her from didn't know either--has about an hour of "go" time in her whenever she gets up. She has her own schedule about when she wants out and makes it VERY clear when that's supposed to happen, and will be quite full of vim and vinegar the whole time, but then once she's done she's done, and heads off for a nap. I do notice slight changes in her activity level that seem to be based on the temperature, so perhaps it is the summer weather. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2016 6:23:57 GMT -5
I have only had them for about 3 weeks and from the estimated birth certificate, they are about 3 - 4 months old. Last night during playtime, bandit did not want to use the litterbox despite my efforts. Unusual for him to be out for that long and not need to go. Looks like he did go in "his" box this morning, need to look at it to make sure it is ok. My kids think I am overly paranoid but after reading all the problems they can have, I am always checking on them.[/font][/font]
Sorry butterball has to go to another doc. Poor baby.
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Post by Sherry on Jun 24, 2016 9:36:51 GMT -5
I give my guys 1 teaspoon of pumpkin each day just as preventative as well. It seems they are always eating something they shouldn't be. I did not think pumpkin was dangerous though. This is definitely setting them up for insulinoma in the future. Only took 1/2 tsp for my raw fed from baby girl Willow to develop first insulinoma by age 3, which turned into a very malignant cancer quickly. We lost her by 4. Some are just genetically prone to it(meaning anything but meat/bone/organ will trigger it), and you won't know which ones until it is too late. |
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Post by caitmonster on Jun 25, 2016 14:25:05 GMT -5
One last update... so, after another round of x-rays, the vet saw what he thought was an increase in fluid from what seemed to be showing on the x-rays from the first vet, so he told me that whatever the cause, that fluid needed to be taken out asap. Sedation was required for it, which he said was risky because of how compromised my little guy's heart and lungs seemed to be, and I agreed to it because I figured it was either try to remove the fluid and then try to work with the later diagnosis, or else have to deal with him basically suffocating. In the back of my head I knew there was a good chance he might not make it, but I didn't know what might be a better course of action. I'm glad I at least gave him one last snuggle before they took him back, because he went into cardiac arrest while under sedation and they were unable to get his heart started again even with cpr and epinephrine. The vet showed me afterwards that what they drew out was blood, not even fluid, which he said he believed was a tumor on the heart that had burst (the majority of the hemorrhaging showing on the left side of the chest), and that ultimately it was better that he went while sedated. Anyway, not to turn this into a rainbow bridge post, but I figured I'd describe what happened for others to be aware of what can happen. Funny how these wonderful creatures are so full of life and yet so fragile at the same time.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2016 15:23:11 GMT -5
words cannot express how sorry I am for you, losing a furbaby is one of the hardest things in the world. D.I.P sweet little boy. |
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Post by abbeytheferret6 on Jun 25, 2016 16:24:44 GMT -5
Oh Gosh,how sad. Glad you did get a last hug, and I am so sorry. DIP little one.  |
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Post by Sherry on Jun 26, 2016 9:36:21 GMT -5
Oh no I am SO very sorry for your loss DIP little one- fly high and free :wave2: |
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